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Teen sentence for attack on stepfather

An Ohio teenager who stabbed his stepfather in Summit Township was sentenced today.

Donald J. Zuppo, 19, of Youngstown pleaded no contest to aggravated assault and was ordered by Butler County Judge Timothy McCune to spend 9 to 18 months in the Butler County Prison followed by two years of probation.

According to court records, Zuppo allegedly cut Walker’s throat with a razor knife in the evening of Feb. 22. The incident happened at Walker’s home on Carbon Center Road, where Walker lives with his wife, who is Zuppo’s mother.

The alleged attack left Walker bleeding from wounds to his neck and chest. He was flown by medical helicopter to UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh for treatment.

According to court documents, Zuppo confessed to cutting Walker several times with a utility knife he had for “street fighting.”

He said he pulled it out after Walker had struck him in the head.

The attack, documents said, followed an apparent domestic dispute between Walker and his wife, Kelly Walker.

Zuppo’s no contest plea means he is not acknowledging guilt. However, he is choosing not to fight the allegations at a trial. A no contest plea is given the same weight as a guilty plea for the purpose of sentencing.

Zuppo, who has been in prison since the day after the incident, already served his sentence while awaiting resolution of this case.

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